The dawn was cold and the rain was still drizzling. The view into the clearing wasn’t very good, but was good enough to concern them. As the sky lightened and the illumination grew, so did the view of bodies on the ground around the three main buildings that were their focus and concern. The bodies were naked and sprawled in a haphazard manner out in the open. There were no lights or movement visible as well. No vehicles were within sight, nor were any running engines heard.
All of this made Bekka think whoever was there had already left. She could only see so much detail with the spotting scope she brought. There were other elements that didn’t line up. If the bad guys just drove through and killed everyone, why aren’t any doors open? Where are any other signs of a hasty departure? There was no attempt to cover their tracks. It just felt wrong. Like if you came to class and they told you there was a test on chapter 16, and yesterday you were told to read up to chapter ten for a test the next day.
Bekka had Allyson keep scanning the buildings and open area for signs of life or movement while she started focusing on scanning the trees and surrounding area for other observers or ambush. These were slow, methodical things that neither of them rushed. They spent at least two hours just observing. It was much more important to be thorough than quick. They both knew if they got this wrong, they might not survive and could get everyone else killed as well.
They updated Garen and Kara of their progress. Now it was time for them to decide the next step. The two biggest questions were who was going down there and when. It was decided that Allyson would make entry and Bekka would cover her with the long gun since this also let Bekka continue scoping the area while the ‘bait’ went in. Allyson pointed out that this wasn’t the first time she has been the bait, waiting for the overwatch to whack whoever sticks their head up.
The when they figured should be soon. After updating Garen and Kara, Allyson started working her way down and around. Using different buildings as breaks for line of sight, Allyson worked closer and closer until it was time to move out into the open.
At this point, Allyson’s pucker factor shot through the roof. She had said something earlier to Bekka about being more scared than worried. Bekka’s response floored her.
“Of course you’re scared. If you weren’t, you’d be an idiot. If you were that big an idiot, you wouldn’t still be here. Hell, I’m scared, Garen’s scared, Kara’s scared. If you aren’t scared, you’re obviously not understanding the situation. You got this, and we just have to get this done, then we can go home.”
She moved forward to one of the buildings Kara had identified as storage for the boxes they were bringing and unloading here. She was able to peek into the window. There were quite a few boxes piled up in the back of the building where she could see. Closer to the big doors, there was less organization. Boxes were strewn haphazardly, opened and contents spilling out. She still saw and heard no one.
The bodies on the ground were pale and lifeless. They had obviously been there for hours. Up close, Allyson was able to make out the wounds on them. They looked different than she was expecting. The three on the lawn looked like someone had used a mellonballer the size of a grapefruit on them. Each had two or three big holes in their torso. She could see inside one of the bodies, the hole was that big. As she was staring, she realized she had seen their faces before.